#but john has to grapple with both ‘I have a body now’ and ‘IT’S PARKER’S’ at once

[cutter-kirby]

malevolent au where kayne decides to give john a body, hooray! the catch? it’s parker’s corpse.

also arthur’s still blind so he can’t tell… but john Knows. and he refuses to tell arthur because he knows that’d be beyond painful. so he just sits there while arthur’s like “it’s nice that you have a body now john :)” and john is just “UH HUH. YES.” while he pilots arthur’s dead best friend who he killed

[gumnut-logic]

Dirt (Part Seven)

From here.

Apologies for the delay on this. I haven’t been well and work has been evil. But now I’m on leave, here be the next bit. A touch of action, a touch of Pen & Ink and a whole pile of angst.

For @ak47stylegirl Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for putting up with my whining while I’ve been sick. Nutty is a pain in the ass when denied her creative outlets.

I hope you enjoy this appropriately whumpy fic considering the month :D I can cover possibly ‘delirium’, ‘gunpoint’ and ‘dragged’. There aren’t any ‘explosion’s, but lots of similar stuff, but eh, this fic grew from September, so it is what it is :D

-o-o-o-

The result was immediate. The man holding the gun to his brother’s face was thrown forward with a godawful snap of bone, disappearing out of Virgil’s sight, the cable trailing behind.

Scott staggered backwards in shock and time stopped.

Another blink.

“Virgil?!” Scott was kneeling beside him. “Virgil!”

“This is the Global Defence Force. Remain where you are or be fired upon.” A pause. Scott touched his faceplate and Virgil closed his eyes. “I repeat, remain where you are or be fired upon.”

Gunfire and Virgil jumped. His body responded by screaming at him.

“Hey, hey, keep still.” Scott wrapped a hand around his shoulder.

Virgil realised he was trembling and he couldn’t stop it. “Scott...” The trembling became shaking and it shook his injuries. Oh, god...

“Virgil!”

Make it stop. “Can’t...” Spots, teasers of blessed unconsciousness, danced in front of his eyes.

Something shifted in his left shoulder, finally collapsing under his weight and everything whited out.

-o-o-o-

Gordon was beginning to feel the effects of his injury when Thunderbird Two shot the bastard with her grapple gun.

The man flew past Gordon at high speed only to collide with a crumpled wall.

He did not get up.

Everything happened at speed after that. Scott ran to Virgil. Tin spun around and targeted him and Alan, her eyes assessing. “Sit down, Gordon.”

“Not yet.” There were still quite a few of the soldiers in the area, though most looked more terrified than threatening.

But the GDF rocked up, Aunt Val’s firm voice as reassuring to him as it was threatening to the assholes on the ground.

A familiar pink vehicle swooped in to land not far away, a glaring and defensive Parker stalking out from the driver’s seat and hovering around...

Pen.

Gordon suddenly found himself on his butt in the dirt. He was vaguely aware of Tin attending to Alan, but he only had eyes for his blonde hallucination approaching at a run.

“Gordon.”

“Hey, Pen.”

Then her hands were on him assessing his injury. “You got yourself shot. How unfortunate.” The words were composed, but her eyes said so much more.

“Sorry.” He reached for her, but realised his glove was scuffed and bloody and curled it back towards his body.

The dirt under his butt rumbled. For a moment, he thought it was Two on the move again, but it didn’t take long for the rumble to overtake even the Thunderbird’s roar.

“All of you, get out of there!” John’s voice was unusually panicked.

Penelope grabbed him by his uninjured arm and he remembered why they weren’t supposed to be on this site.

The rumble of tremor was suddenly overlaid by cracked and crumbling concrete falling from height.

The building next door.

“Alan!” But Tin was already moving, her hands under his arms dragging him towards...

Two was moving again, her hatch lowered and Scott dragged an unconscious Virgil onto her deck plates. Kayo was dragging his little brother...

“Gordon!” Penelope hauled him to FAB1, throwing him into the car as Parker fired the jets.

Two roared past, gaining both speed and height as the building above toppled.

“Hold on, M’Lady!” And FAB1 shot into the sky, swooping abruptly left, then right. The GDF flyer contingent lost formation as the International Rescue vehicles punched through it. A glance behind and Gordon saw TB1 fire up and take to the sky, no doubt under John’s control. To their right Shadow suddenly rippled into existence.

Behind them, the lone remaining pod and the discarded Vac were buried under an avalanche of concrete, steel and office furniture.

Gordon found himself dizzy.

“Breathe, Gordon.”

His eyes flickered to Pen and her worried frown snapped him out of shock.

Expensive leather, the quiet hum of efficient machinery, blue eyes only for him...a long drawn out exhale.

Her hand reached for his.

-o-o-o-

It all happened so fast, Scott’s head was spinning.

One moment he was being held at gunpoint, the next the gunman was gone, Virgil unconscious and the world was shaking.

How had they forgotten they were in an earthquake danger zone?

How had they forgotten about the building just waiting to topple on them?

He had been distracted.

“All of you, get out of there!” The panic in John’s voice was so uncharacteristic that it snapped him out of shock. Two crept closer and lowered her hatch.

Virgil was in pieces, but he had to be moved. Begging forgiveness under his breath, Scott dragged his heavy brother by his baldric and harness as gently and as fast as he possibly could onto her hatch plate. A moment later, as Two crept forward, Kayo joined him, her arms dragging an unconscious Alan.

Penelope had Gordon and Two’s hatch drew them up into her body, her thrusters firing, pushing her into higher speed and horizontal flight.

The normalcy of his brother’s cockpit enveloped them.

“Alan!” Kayo’s voice was sharp held no shortage of worry. “Alan!”

“Scott, Alan needs fluids now! His blood pressure is almost non-existent.” John’s voice was sharp in his ears.

Yes. Yes.

Virgil was limp in his arms. “Virgil?”

“Alan is the priority.”

Move.

It was a blur. Lifting his little brother onto one of the pull-down gurneys in the cabin. Assessing his condition. Kayo grabbing a saline drip and forcing fluid into his blood stream. Brains was suddenly there, Moffie at his heels. A frantic attempt at halting the blood loss from Alan’s lower right leg. Clamps. Blood on his fingers, his hands, sterile gloves.

Thunderbird Two rumbling through the soles of his feet.

Alan’s pulse fading as alarms screamed throughout the cabin. Kayo’s desperate voice begging his brother not to give up.

Dirt everywhere.

The spark as the defibrillator charged. The laser cutter tearing Alan’s uniform from his chest.

Virgil crying from the floor for his little brother. Moffie’s voice attempting to reassure him.

A young man’s body shuddering as it took the charge designed to kick it back into life.

Prayer.

Wishes.

Begging.

The thrum through his soles.

A single beep.

Another.

A chance.

Alan, please god.

Oxygen.

Oxygen.

The sound Virgil crying into the decking, unable to get to his feet.

A breath.

Another.

Another.

Life.

That chance.

-o-o-o-

 Virgil woke surrounded by his ‘bird.

Her thrum was in his bones and she brought comfort and refuge from the pain that accompanied consciousness.

It took him a moment to realise he was on her deck plates and the feet blurring in and out of his vision were those of his eldest brother and his sister. Brains? For a moment, he just stared at the blurry shapes as they danced back and forth across his vision.

Why?

An alarm cut through the air.

A familiar alarm.

Cardiac arrest.

Alan? Where was Alan? “Alan!” His voice just didn’t have its usual power. It came out scratched and faint. “ALAN!”

A woman’s voice. A hand on his arm.

Arm.

“Alan?!”

Kayo echoed him, calling his little brother’s name and for a moment, he was surrounded by dirt, his brother’s dying hand in his. “Alan? Alan, please answer me. Please.”

There was a woman’s voice again, but his little brother didn’t answer.

The distant sound of the defibrillator charging. His breath caught in his throat. “ALAN?!” Answer me, please, answer me.

The next few moments were lost to him in a wave of despair, fear and pain. Somewhere his littlest brother was dying.

He had promised to stay with him.

Virgil attempted to roll over and push himself up.

Pain whited out everything.

It left him whimpering into the deck plates.

Alan.

Alan.

I tried.

Please.

“Virgil? Lay still.” Scott’s soft voice broke through the fog and the tears.

“Alan?” Please.

“It was close, but we have him stabilised.”

The relief that hit Virgil nearly took him down. His groan became a sob that shook him and sprouted new pain. His voice trickled off into whimpers and everything faded.

“Virgil!” Scott’s voice yanked him from the fog and for a moment he could see his brother’s weary eyes ever so clearly. “We need to get you on a backboard and cervical collar. Stay with me, bro.”

He blinked and the blur returned. He didn’t answer.

Time slipped again until his whole body screamed at him. He was being moved, but he couldn’t. His helmet came off and all the familiar smells of his cockpit washed over him. A breath. A hand was holding his head.

Scott’s voice was chanting to him. Reassuring words, an anchor in the storm of pain-filled sensation.

A finger brushed his cheek.

A count of three and he was lifted. A sound passed his lips but he didn’t know what it was other than something hurt.

“Virg, you with me?”

He blinked, but couldn’t get anything more than a blurry impression of where his brother stood. He was standing. Virgil was likely in one of the pull-down gurneys. “Scott?”

“Hey.” That finger touched his cheek again. “Your broken ribs have nicked a vein and you are bleeding internally.” The finger reached up into his hair. Virgil relaxed just a little bit. “You’ve broken your collar bone and cracked your scapula.”

The medical terms spun in his head and what came up was not good. “Well, shit.”

His brother managed the smallest of snorts at that. “We’re on approach to London. You’ll be in good hands soon.”

His breath was dry. “H’all ready in good hands.” His eyes closed unexpectedly and he shoved them open again. “Alan?”

Scott’s lips thinned. “Hanging in there.”

Another blink. “Gordon?”

“Lady Penelope has him. He’s got a hole in his shoulder, but he is stable for the moment.”

A frown. “For the moment?”

“He has lost some blood, but they are right behind us. They’ll make it in plenty of time.”

“Safe.”

The hand in his hair paused. “Virgil?”

“Keep them safe.” Please keep them safe. His little brothers.

The fingers resumed combing his hair. “As safe as I can, Virgil. I promise.”

“Safe.” And his eyes drifted closed again. It was too much effort to open them.

“Virgil? C’mon, stay with me.”

Want to stay.

Can’t.

-o-o-o-

Part Eight

[dustedmagazine]

Rova Saxophone Quartet w/ Kyle Bruckmann and Henry Kaiser — Steve Lacy’s Saxophone Special Revisited (Clean Feed)

Steve Lacy's 'Saxophone Special' Revisited ...with special guests Kyle Bruckmann and Henry Kaiser! by Rova Saxophone Quartet

Leave it to Rova Saxophone Quartet to dream up a reinvention of Steve Lacy’s 1974 album Saxophone Special. They’ve grappled with this sort of thing with their acoustic and electric takes on John Coltrane’s Ascension, not exactly the go-to piece in Coltrane’s canon. But this project stands out even in Lacy’s body of work. In the liner notes to the reissue of Lacy’s recording, producer Martin Davidson recounts that upon hearing Lacy’s over-dubbed solo LP Lapis, “This gave me the idea, early in 1974, to suggest to him that it would be interesting to hear similar music involving other distinctive soprano saxophonists. Between us we came up with Evan Parker, Steve Potts and Trevor Watts. In addition, Lacy suggested what he called a ‘noise section’ of Derek Bailey and Michel Waisvisz.”

For the concert at Wigmore Hall in London, there was a quick afternoon rehearsal and two evening sets. But the group would never convene again and some of the pieces from the program never showed up in Lacy’s subsequent ongoing repertoire. Even so, the program and resulting recording left an indelible mark on those who heard it. By now, the idea of a convening a saxophone quartet is hardly a radical conceit, but in 1974, there were few precedents. Anthony Braxton had recorded a piece with Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, and Hamiet Bluiett on New York, Fall, 1974 but it took a few years more before Rova, World Saxophone Quartet, and others seized on the format. 

Rova captures the overall forms of the pieces and the general instrumentation, calling in long-time collaborator Henry Kaiser on guitar and Kyle Bruckmann on analog synth. But, as always with their music, they absorb the framework and the intent of the music rather than plying a reparatory recreation. In Brian Morton’s notes, he recalls an interview he did with Lacy for the BBC. The reed player talked about how his music at the time was “pretty much all in seconds, these supposedly no-good intervals which you are supposed to avoid, but I found that if you placed them right and held your nerve, you got amazing results… chiming sounds, really beautiful.” The Rova crew jump on that, fully absorbing the original arrangements, then taking off from the themes and singular voicings and overlaying their singular approach. 

Take a piece like “Dreams.” The cry of synth intertwined with the crisscross network of saxophones open both the original and the new take. But where the theme is introduced early on in the original, the new version incorporates a skirling hive of overtones over Kaiser’s darkly resonant chords teetering on the edge of feedback and Bruckmann’s quavering, high-pitched, crying synth. It isn’t until almost a third of the way in that the theme is introduced, and even then, it is toyed with, repeated and refracted and then dropped for an expansive timbral collective abstraction. They bring it all to a commanding close, looping the theme back in with vigorous resolve. “Swishes,” a tune that Lacy only recorded once, starts with Raskin’s bari, Kaiser’s flayed dry chords, and Bruckmann’s rippling synth circling toward the insistent theme voiced by the other three reed players, which is then refracted into fissured collective improvisation. Here, though, one misses the contrapuntal clarity of the original (with a rare appearance of Evan Parker on baritone anchoring the proceedings).  

Like on the original recording, “Sops” is the only piece that features just the sax quartet. Lacy’s version was voiced for four sopranos but Rova switches that out for soprano and sopranino saxes for a more strident sound. Here, they achieve a transparency, with open lines by each of the players overlapping with kaleidoscopic volatility. Their take on “Snaps” trades synth crackles for the original snapped fingers for the opening and then erupts with scrabbled guitar, spattered oscillations and careening sax lines propelled with torrential fervor, providing one of the highlights of the recording. Rova fleshes out the release with readings of two Lacy tunes that weren’t part of the original. “Clichés” and “Sidelines,” each accentuate the songlike qualities of Lacy’s music while taking advantage of the abraded timbres of the extended group. “Clichés” is a particular standout here, with a shredded guitar solo woven in to the adeptly-voiced horns. Rova has always incorporated work by composers like Lacy, Fred Frith, John Zorn and Alvin Curran into their repertoire, inhabiting the work with their distinct collective approach. But these dives in to seminal recordings have proven to kindle particularly stimulating results.  

Michael Rosenstein

[smallpressdistribution]

8 SPD BOOKS THAT WILL MAKE YOU “DESTINY’S CHILD” INDEPENDENT

IN THIS WEEK’S SPDCLICKHOLE by Maya Arthur

This month’s SPDHandpicked theme is INDEPENDENCE. When I think of independence, I think of the Revolutionary War and the beginning of America (which is just like an arbitrary date and year when you think about the people living here previously for thousands of years). When I think of independence, I think of teen movies where they just like run away and somehow have enough money on hand to live in a new town without their parents. And when I truly, truly think of independence, I think of Destiny’s Child “Independent Women, Pt I.” Was there ever a part 2? Please let me know.

In hot pursuit for some SPD Clickhole titles, I’ve been playing “Independent Women, Pt. I” on loop and generally asking, “What would early 2000s era Beyoncé do?” Here are some awesome titles that would go great with the Charlie’s Angels marketing synergy song. Symbiosis is key.

1.  Hold It Down, Gina Myers (Coconut Books)

In Hold It Down, Myers writes of cities, journeying from Brooklyn to Saginaw, Michigan to Atlanta. Through each space, Myers upends the concept of the city as the epoch for individuality and independence. Rather Myers writes of the daily grind, of traveling within the city as both a liberated person and a person confined to the capitalist and systemic structures of a city. There is an honest dismay in the topics and news that are pushed for Myers and her peers to worry and think about (“Now, no news is bad news & the only news we know.”). Even Myers’ apartments do not remind her of home (“Looking out the apartment window, the city looks dead. . .Sometimes I forget that this is home...”). Even with this dismay, there is still an optimism – simply from being honest of the gray underside of the city, not as dark as it could be, but nonetheless a dismal time. And as she journeys from city to city, from place to place, the optimism rises. There seems to be a correlation with happiness and leaving New York.

I choose a Bills, Bills, Bills lyric because a main component of living in a city is figuring out the constant expenses you have or grappling over the fact that around ~70% of your income is for your rent: “Can you pay my bills? / Can you pay my telephone bills? / Do you pay my automo' bills? / If you did then maybe we could chill”

2. Tela de sevoya, Onioncloth, Myriam Moscona (Les Figues Press)

Tela de sevoya is part autobiography, part intergenerational experiment. Moscona experiments on the past and present, on hidden histories, and told and untold narratives. Moscona travels from Bulgaria to Mexico in search for traces of her Sephardic heritage and through her travel, Moscona taps into her family language and what it could or should be – Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish. Moscona relies on imagination and memory, making them almost interchangeable in their relation to family history and genealogy. When real life information has us still searching and wondering, Moscona creates a narrative of truth and borrowed truth to answer questions about her family and herself.

For this title, I decided to go with Solange’s The Proud Family Theme Song that features Destiny’s Child. Because family supports family – like that time Beyoncé danced with Solange at her Coachella set and it was the best thing that ever happened to me (clarification: I did not go to Coachella that year).

3. Other People’s Comfort Keep Me Up at Night, Morgan Parker (Switchback Books)

Morgan Parker booms independence. Her voice is unflinching in Other People’s Comfort Keep Me Up at Night. She moves past each poem with ease, a mix of parody, surrealism, and honest truth. A Destiny’s Child lyric even pops up in a poem! In Miss Black America, the narrator asks, “Is she bootylicious.”  At first, her poems are presented as lighthearted, fun, quick poems like “How to Piss in Public and Maintain Femininity.” However, as you continue to read, you realize how unabashed Parker is. The situations she present shift from parody and lightheartedness to intimate and confessional writing. Parker looks you in the eye and tells it to you straight, the only decorum she provides might only be a witty pop culture reference (that you might not even get). Parker booms independence through her complexity of words and experiences, through her confrontation and delightful criticism. In one poem, Parker is quoting Destiny’s Child, the other tackles the threaded racism of her grandmother’s life and how it still trickles down to meet her. Neither impose upon the other or is above the other. Rather both show a crisp intuition and criticism that leaves the reader still wondering about the juxtaposition.

I choose a Bootylicious lyric since Parker samples it too - “I don't think you ready for this jelly/ I don't think you ready for this jelly/ I don't think you ready for this/ Cause my body too bootylicious for ya babe”

4. Slope Move, Hanna Andrews (Coconut Books)

Hanna Andrews travels in anagrams with Slope Move. Different locations fill each poem. In some, you are in Illinois, in others, an airport or a red bed. Hanna both draws from big spaces and the mundane. There is no downward slope or upward, but rather the book reads as a course that goes down and up and sideways too. There is momentum in some parts, but also slow winding curves and turns. Slope Move is about relationships and the travel of relationships. Andrews remains an independent entity in this relationship, there is only a focus on her side of this travel. And the biggest question Andrews asks and wonders in the travel is when will it outrun its course?

I choose a lyric from Emotion which is probably Destiny’s Child’s most emotive and contemplative song. And it’s also heavily about broken relationships. “And where are you now, now that I need you? / Tears on my pillow wherever you go/ I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean/You never see me fall apart”

5.  Benediction, Alice Notley (Letter Machine Editions)

Alice Notley’s Benediction is a culmination of a lifetime. A single long-poem that moves throughout different stages of her life, Notley benedicts herself through the writing and words that took around twenty years to publish. Benediction is like Lemonade in a way. Beyoncé’s Lemonade is a benediction, a self-given blessing, of Beyoncé’s life and previous work and relationships. Alice Notley does the same. Alice Notley slowly and confidently unknots the emotions Notley feels – she mainly wrote Benediction during the time of her husband’s illness. The poem contains rage, mourning, regret. There is even a humdrum quality. Fragmented, un-capitalized, and stream of conscious, Notley is very aware in Benediction.

It is not a conclusory piece, but rather feels like a masterwork. And I will be damned if you can’t have several masterworks in your lifetime.

The whole discography of Destiny’s Child (+ all their solo efforts including Michelle’s gospel songs) is akin to Benediction. Is that too big a statement? I stand by it.

6. The Motion, Lucy K Shaw (421 Atlanta)

Lucy K Shaw is Tumblr confessional. 20-something with a hazy future and a nomadic home, cataloging and listing moments and conversations. Shaw’s writing is full circle, combining different scenarios (from workplace birthday parties) and places (museums, parks, et cetera) into a sort of continuous motion. It is self-regulated and self-referential. Both reverence and deprecation. Both irrelevance and irrationality. Shaw states in The Motion, “I was always analysing from too many points of view. Always identifying intention when it didn’t have to matter.” It’s a look into the self that a reader doesn’t always want to see or face, but it’s a remarkable work in its frankness and uncertainty and temporarity. 

I give it Say My Name by Destiny’s Child – specifically the music video that also flows through scenarios and places into a continuous motion, almost like a single take.

7. Buck Studies, Douglas Kearney (Fence Books)

An experimental telling and retelling on the lives that don’t get liberation or independence. The writing is bold – you could even call it brash. Or assertive. A case study in language and the construction of language. Kearney is reflective, asking, “Who owns this language and why?” And furthermore, “Who owns their body and why?”

Maybe a mix of Soldier and Survivor? I think a mix of masculinity and survival is a great balance to the fragility and unshakeable fear Buck Studies shows. Buck Studies share the underbelly of the bravado and swagger Destiny’s Child and co (T.I., Lil Wayne, and Da Brat) try to sell.

8. Jefferson’s Dream: The Ballad of the Declaration of Independence, John Perrault (Hobblebush Books)

Is this too on the nose?

I choose Destiny’s Child singing the National Anthem.

All SPDhandpicked books are 20% off all month w/ code HANDPICKED

[frostybeats]

Favorite Albums of 2018

Here we are, another year in the books. I thought I’d compile a list of some of my favorite projects that artists did this year. Mind you, this is not a list of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2018, these were some of my favorites to listen to this year. I thought this was an amazing year for rap, especially this summer, so I’ve included quite a few rap records. I was still listening to a lot of music from 2017, but this list will focus strictly on what came out this year. There is no order of favorites. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Astroworld - Travis Scott

You can’t talk music in 2018 without mentioning Astroworld. Was the album overhyped? Absolutely. Does that mean it didn’t deliver? No way. People were acting like Travis hadn’t done anything in half a decade, when in reality it had been less than 2 years since his sophomore effort, Birds in the Trap, and he had dropped the collab, Huncho-Jack, with Quavo at the end of 2017. Still, fans and artists alike salivated at the mention of Astroworld. The man even made a Jordan 4 to contribute to the album’s hype. Astroworld delivers immediately and rewards multiple listens, I consistently find new things in this album to appreciate. Travis is back with the signature ad-libs, old and new, and an all-star feature cast that rivals that of an Avengers movie. The album feels like a rollercoaster, roaring at a fast pace with plenty of thrills, but there are also some slower tracks to even the ride out. Travis has never been about deep material though. He’s always been about having a good time, especially this time around. It’s an absolute go to when you want to get lit like a Christmas tree. The beat switch ups (see Stargazing) are akin to maniacally switching lanes on a highway. Just watch out for the groups of frat boys that start dancing in a circle and shouting when Sicko Mode comes on at a bar.

Top 3: No Bystanders, Sicko Mode, Coffee Bean

Swimming - Mac Miller

“Every day I wake up and breathe. I don’t have it all, but that’s alright with me.”

Okay, I know I said I wasn’t doing this list in order, but Swimming is near, if not at, the top of albums this year for me. GO:OD AM still remains my favorite Mac project, but Swimming is probably his best project, critically. I probably could, and may, do a track-by-track review of this album. Mac is producing at his best, it’s a listen that flows smooth from start to finish without anything really feeling out of place. The album holds true to it’s name, with tracks see-sawing back and forth between sounding like having your head above the water and being pulled deep under the waves. The J. Cole produced “Hurt Feelings” will take you to the ocean floor, while “Jet Fuel” will have you drifting across the surface. Thundercat lays down some incredible bass lines, and John Mayer even makes an appearance on “Small Worlds”. “2009” is a track that hits right in the feels, recounting the change, both good and bad, since stepping into the limelight. Swimming is a journey of self-acceptance, and being okay with life even when you don’t triumph, a tragic message given Mac’s passing just a month after the record’s release. I related to many of these songs on a personal level with my own struggles in 2018, the album came out exactly when I needed it. Rest in peace, Mac. Most dope…forever.

Top 3: Hurt Feelings, 2009, Self Care

Honorable Mention: It didn’t make the album, but go listen to “Programs”; it’s so buttery

Proper Dose - The Story So Far

This band has yet to disappoint and gets better with each album they do, I’m thankful for that since it’s a rare thing. The album moves fast with a combination of tracks that are best listened to while flying down the highway or cruising with the windows down on a nice day. Classic pop-punk vibes are present on “Need To Know” and the title track, while the band explores a new, more melodic sound on “Upside Down” and “Growing On You”. The most welcome new addition is Parker’s ability to sing, progressing from his shouting-style on previous albums; “Take Me As You Please” showcases this beautifully. Ryan Torf also deserves a lot of credit for the air tight drums on every track. The percussion is a huge standout. This album was made to be blasted in a car on a summer day.

Top 3: Out Of It, Light Year, Take Me As You Please

YSIV - Logic

I tried to keep it to one project per artist, so this beat out Bobby Tarantino II for me. Logic has dropped at least one project every year since 2010, let that sink in. Somehow, he has managed to not sound overdone or saturated, a true testament to his craft and workaholic nature. YSIV (Young Sinatra IV) revisits the 90-style boom-bap sound of his Young Sinatra mixtape trilogy that got him known. Logic sounds like he walked through a portal and it’s the early 2010s again, but his raps and 6ix’s production have both ascended to a new level. 1-800 fans will be very confused as the bar-hungry Logic of old resurfaces to show people that he’s still an animal on the mic with tracks like “Everybody Dies” and “The Return”. If you like straight bars then this is the album for you. The ENTIRE Wu Tang Clan makes an appearance on the song “Wu Tang Forever”. “Street Dreams II” is storytelling at it’s best, an ode to the style of rap that dominated the 90s. YSIV sounds like a genuine continuation of the Young Sinatra era, rather than a sequel or remake that tries too hard to be like the original. The only thing missing is an iconic Marty Randolph skit.

Top 3: The Return, Street Dreams II, Ordinary Day

A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975

The working title “Music for Cars” sent fans into a frenzy thinking that the band was revisiting their early days. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships proved to be the opposite by pushing the boundaries of the band’s sound. Yes, there are songs like TOOTIME and the single, “Love It If We Made It” that would sound perfectly at home on the previous album, but there are also jazzy songs like “Mine” and “Sincerity Is Scary” that we’ve never heard from this eclectic, pop quartet. The album explores a wide pallet of emotions, mostly surrounding love and relationships in the present day. They even propose the not so farfetched idea that we’re in a relationship with the internet and social media on “The Man Who Married a Robot”. I’ve always gravitated toward the instrumental interludes/tracks on The 1975 projects (excluding the remixed intros), but I also really enjoyed the softer songs as well on this one. This band has always encompassed many different feelings on their projects, but it’s broadcast on a similar spectrum for a given project. It’s hard to put this band in a box, and I really like that.

Top 3: Love Theme, Surrounded By Heads And Bodies, I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)

K.O.D. - J. Cole

Anytime J. Cole has been quiet for what seems like too long you can guarantee he’s about to drop something. K.O.D. officially marks the end of the Forest Hills Drive era that was continued on 4 Your Eyez. The album is a bit of an uncomfortable, medicated listen, start to finish, but that’s the point. It hits close to home for those that have struggled with addiction personally, or witnessed friends and family grapple. Cole warns listeners of the dangers of addiction and drug abuse, especially as a staple of the modern rap scene. However, Cole shows us that addiction isn’t just substance based, but also comes in the forms of social media and ego, with deeper rooted problems that we cover with these things rather than face head on. “Photograph” calls out the ego-stroke that Instagram has turned into. Cole impressively comes off from a place of concern, rather than being preachy. The album isn’t an easy listen, but it’s a necessary one.

Top 3: Photograph, Kevin’s Heart, BRACKETS

Culture II - Migos

Migos wasted no time in following their 2017 breakthrough, Culture. Culture II essentially keeps the record spinning with a slew of new songs. A friend once said to me that most of Migos sounds the same, and there’s a lot of truth to that. But their triplet bar scheme is still catchy and a lot of these tracks are just a fun listen, whether you’re working out, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or getting together with friends. “Supastars” and “Auto Pilot” are straight hype tracks, and the now ironic “Motorsport” slaps with the Nicki Minaj & Cardi B features. “Stir Fry” is a track that you can immediately hear Pharrell on despite his lack of vocals. Culture II is jam packed with lines that we’ve seen everyone use as Instagram captions throughout 2018, don’t count on that trend stopping anytime soon with Culture III already slated for early 2019.

Top 3: Motorsport, Movin’ Too Fast, Auto Pilot

Scorpion - Drake

There’s a lot I can say about Scorpion, I’ll try and keep it brief. The gargantuan work is a double album, split into 2 sides. Side A is more rap heavy, while Side B is moody R&B. The production on this record is phenomenal, 40 and OVO Sound killed this one. Scorpion feels like the long awaited followup to Take Care that so many people (myself included) have spent the past 7 years dreaming of. This isn’t the “beat your chest”, angry Drake of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, or the British, grime-stint that was More Life. This is Drake at his best, simply being Drake. He’s braggadocios on “Nonstop” (with the now iconic Tay Keith production tag) and “Talk Up” (with an amazing verse by Hov). He’s moody, with in your feels songs like “Jaded” that will keep you up past 3 AM thinking about relationships that you were never in. He finds himself attempting to navigate life on “8 Out Of 10” and “March 14th”. Scorpion is well worth the long listen, with a wide array of offerings. In my opinion, this is Drake’s best project since Nothing Was the Same.

Top 3: Jaded, Nonstop, 8 Out Of 10

Honorary Mention (so many songs!): Sandra’s Rose

Man of the Woods - Justin Timberlake

I wish it didn’t always take this man half a decade to make new music, but I’m okay with quality over quantity. A homage to his son, Man of the Woods finds JT at his pop roots, but attempting to blend in some folk here and there for some robust notes. Most of the time it works out. “Say Something”, with Chris Stapleton, is a prime example. “Montana” will sound a bit more familiar to fans that know his signature pop sound. “Midnight Summer Jam” is the sweet spot between these two sounds that will have you grooving. There’s an interlude that’s reminiscent of “Blue Ocean Floor” on 20/20 (a sound I wish he’d make a whole album with). The Alicia Keys duet, “Morning Light”, feels like waking up on a sunny day after a great night’s sleep without a care in the world. Man of the Woods showcases JT’s versatility and willingness to take risks and push boundaries as a pop artist in a genre that often sounds repetitive. Most of the time it’s rewarding, and even when it’s off-step I still appreciate the effort. This album definitely grew on me after multiple listens.

Top 3: Midnight Summer Jam, Wave, Montana

Ye - Kanye West

Okay, Kanye had quite the year… let’s stick to the music. Ye was apparently recorded mere weeks before the deadline, the album cover was shot on the way to the release party. Kanye apparently scrapped the Love Everyone album (rumored to be the upcoming Yandhi) after the whole MAGA controversy, when he received “new creative energy”. Ye is a short listen, seven tracks just shy of 24 minutes (a common them on all the projects Kanye worked on this year). The album packs a lot of content in for a short listen though, mainly addressing mental health, Kanye’s struggle with bipolar disorder (aka his “superpower”), and the turbulent year he had. Production is one of the highlights on the album; it opens with a dreamy sequence as Kanye speaks some dark lines, a stark juxtaposition. “Ghost Town” is the emotional climax of the album; Kid Cudi, 070 Shake, and PartyNextDoor nail their features, while Kanye delivers some of his best lines on the album. Kanye closes out on “Violent Crimes” with a touching note reflecting on his past behavior as a man and how he now worries for his daughter as she grows up in the world today. It’s a fairly cohesive album for such a rushed project, definitely better put together than The Life of Pablo. Say what you want about Mr. West, but the man is a musical genius.

Top 3: Ghost Town, No Mistakes, Yikes

Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

People lost it when rumors dropped last fall that Ye and Cudi were working on a joint album. The idea sounded like a home run and something that needed to happen, especially after the momentary feud between the two as Cudi struggled with his mental health at the end of 2016. Kids See Ghosts delivers tenfold, and, in my opinion, is the better effort from Kanye this year (it’s a joint album so it’s an acceptation to my 1 project per artist rule). Ye and Cudi have always brought out the best in each other creatively, they’re yin and yang. “Feel the Love” starts the listen with Cudi chanting and harsh hitting production as Kanye shouts akin to a tommy gun. It sounds like the duo are using their voices as instruments and having fun with it, a theme present across all seven songs. Kanye chops up a 1930s Christmas song to make a banger on “4th Dimension”. As the album progresses, the two tackle their personal issues and struggles, slaying their demons, and coming out rejuvenated on the other side. Cudi returns with his signature hums and hooks, transitioning between rapping his ass off and gently delivering his verses. He delivers a new anthem with “Reborn”, assuring the world that he’s okay. Kanye saved his best bars for this album, delivering some of his best verses since Dark Twisted Fantasy (yes, I said it). Kids See Ghosts is trip that is a far more cohesive listen than Ye (not to take away from Kanye’s solo effort), and is a project that we sorely needed this year. It shows that Cudi is in a better place than in 2016 and the duo can still do what they do best: make good music. While “all killer, no filler”, it’s is a bit of a bummer that the album is only seven songs long, but the fact that they both want to do another certainly makes up for it.

Top 3: Reborn, 4th Dimension, Feel the Love

Testing - A$AP Rocky

We last heard from A$AP Rocky in 2015. Flacko makes his return in 2018 with Testing, an experimental venture. As soon as the staticky bass drops on “Distorted Records” you know that this project is going to be different. True to it’s name, testing offers a variety of sounds with no clear identity. The record feels like a stepping stone as to where Rocky is going, rather than where he is at right now. “Hun43rd” will take longtime A$AP fans back to the early 2010s, while “Buck Shots” will make you curious to see where Rocky goes in the future. Harder beats are contrasted with tracks that focus on gentle guitar strumming, like “Changes” and “Purity”. A lot of rappers tend to play it safe and not experiment much with their sound while focusing on their bars and going with whatever beat is considered “fire” at that moment. It’s rare to see someone, especially a big name like A$AP, really try a variety of sounds and put out an abstract project. It may not be what we expected after At.Long.Last.A$AP, but I give serious props to Rocky for trying something different and look forward to his next project, even if it’s another wait.

Top 3: Hun43rd, Buck Shots, Changes

Little Dark Age - MGMT

This one quietly flew under the radar. MGMT made their return with their first release in half a decade. While apparently inspired by the 2016 election, the album carries little political discourse. Without changing their sound too much, the duo delivers a throwback to the 80s. This album is an absolute bop, plain and simple. Despite sounding like it came from a time capsule, the album addresses a variety of topics relevant to society today. “Time Spent Looking at My Phone” warns of how engrossed we have become with social media and our smartphones and are oblivious to the world around us. “Me and Michael” sounds like a Hall & Oates tribute. Overall the album is a fun listen start to finish, the band’s core sound and the 80s make for an awesome crossover. It’s just really nice to have MGMT back.

Top 3: Me and Michael, James, One Thing Left to Try

Championships - Meek Mill

2018 has been a huge year for Meek. He got released from prison and became an advocate for judicial reform (if you aren’t familiar with the situation I implore you to read up on it because the media seriously misrepresented the facts to make him look like the bad guy and it goes to show the issues in our criminal justice system and the improvements that need to be made), the blockbuster beef with Drake was squashed onstage by performing Dreams and Nightmares (one of the greatest intros of all time), and he capped it off with an album. Championships is a victory lap, celebrating his comeback from a rough stretch involving some major losses. Funky vibes are present all over the album, which is uncharacteristic, but welcome for the usually hard hitting MC. Meek still raps about money, women, and his gritty past over beats that will blow out your speakers if you’re not careful, but also reflects on bigger topics like social injustice on “What’s Free” and “Trauma”. Amends are made with Drake on “Going Bad”. Meek once again proves that he’s undefeated when it comes to intros with a Phil Collins sample. Championships is the celebration of a man that took his lumps and came back, pop some bottles and join in on the party.

Top 3: What’s Free?, Dangerous, Pay You Back

Tha Carter V - Lil Wayne

Word of The Carter V surfaced before I started college… I finished grad school this past year. The album spent the better part of the decade tied up amid legal battles and feuding with Wayne’s old mentor, Birdman, and Cash Money Records. Wayne spent the time releasing various projects to try and satisfy the demand. Carter V seemed to be this decade’s Detox, an album we would always hear about but never actually get. Thank goodness that was not the case. The album clocks in just shy of 90 minutes, a hefty listen. But remember, the album was once slated for a 2013 release and contains material recorded as far back as 2012. Personally, I’m glad Wayne decided to include as much material as he did, this was a long time coming. It’s easily his best project in quite some time and reminds people of why Wayne dominated last decade. There’s something to offer Wayne fans of all eras, Mixtape Weezy, early Carter, and experimental Wayne are all present on this record. Hype tracks like “Uproar” are contrasted with duets like “Dark Side of the Moon”. Wayne lights up verses on “Let It Fly” and “Mona Lisa” (which also contains an impressive appearance from Kendrick). The record is a fun listen start to finish, welcome back, Weezy.

Top 3: Dope New Gospel, What About Me, Let It Fly

Daytona - Pusha T

Daytona had expectations. We last heard from Push in 2015 and this was the first of the wave of albums from G.O.O.D. Music this summer, not to mention one of the ones that was recorded during Kanye’s sojourn in Wyoming and also featured the photo of the late Whitney Houston’s bathroom as the controversial album cover. Daytona sounds like a modern take on the 90s boom-bap sound. Kanye West reminds everyone that he is a producer turned rapper, with top-tier production as executive producer and makes an appearance on “What Would Meek Do?”. Push then gobbles up these sensational beats akin to someone that waited all day to eat Thanksgiving dinner. The new G.O.O.D. CEO hits hard with the verses on every track and pulls no punches. “Infrared” brought his longtime beef with Drake from a simmer to a full boil and laid the ground for one of the most elaborate, methodical spillings of tea that music saw in some time. Originally intended to be King Push, Kanye and Push apparently decided to scrap 2 full albums before creating what would become Daytona, the wait and process was well worth it. The production is some of 2018’s best and the verses back it up. The drug dealer turned executive talks the talk and walks the walk. Yes it’s very early, but I’ll say it: this album will go down as a classic and be remembered as one of the better rap albums of the late 2010s.

Top 3: The Games We Play, Hard Piano, If You Know You Know

And finally, it’s been over 2 years, but go listen to Frank Ocean’s Blonde again. That album has aged like a fine wine.

[frostbeats]

Favorite Albums of 2018

Here we are, another year in the books. I thought I’d compile a list of some of my favorite projects that artists did this year. Mind you, this is not a list of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2018, these were some of my favorites to listen to this year. I thought this was an amazing year for rap, especially this summer, so I’ve included quite a few rap records. I was still listening to a lot of music from 2017, but this list will focus strictly on what came out this year. There is no order of favorites. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Astroworld - Travis Scott

You can’t talk music in 2018 without mentioning Astroworld. Was the album overhyped? Absolutely. Does that mean it didn’t deliver? No way. People were acting like Travis hadn’t done anything in half a decade, when in reality it had been less than 2 years since his sophomore effort, Birds in the Trap, and he had dropped the collab, Huncho-Jack, with Quavo at the end of 2017. Still, fans and artists alike salivated at the mention of Astroworld. The man even made a Jordan 4 to contribute to the album’s hype. Astroworld delivers immediately and rewards multiple listens, I consistently find new things in this album to appreciate. Travis is back with the signature ad-libs, old and new, and an all-star feature cast that rivals that of an Avengers movie. The album feels like a rollercoaster, roaring at a fast pace with plenty of thrills, but there are also some slower tracks to even the ride out. Travis has never been about deep material though. He’s always been about having a good time, especially this time around. It’s an absolute go to when you want to get lit like a Christmas tree. The beat switch ups (see Stargazing) are akin to maniacally switching lanes on a highway. Just watch out for the groups of frat boys that start dancing in a circle and shouting when Sicko Mode comes on at a bar.

Top 3: No Bystanders, Sicko Mode, Coffee Bean

Swimming - Mac Miller

“Every day I wake up and breathe. I don’t have it all, but that’s alright with me.”

Okay, I know I said I wasn’t doing this list in order, but Swimming is near, if not at, the top of albums this year for me. GO:OD AM still remains my favorite Mac project, but Swimming is probably his best project, critically. I probably could, and may, do a track-by-track review of this album. Mac is producing at his best, it’s a listen that flows smooth from start to finish without anything really feeling out of place. The album holds true to it’s name, with tracks see-sawing back and forth between sounding like having your head above the water and being pulled deep under the waves. The J. Cole produced “Hurt Feelings” will take you to the ocean floor, while “Jet Fuel” will have you drifting across the surface. Thundercat lays down some incredible bass lines, and John Mayer even makes an appearance on “Small Worlds”. “2009” is a track that hits right in the feels, recounting the change, both good and bad, since stepping into the limelight. Swimming is a journey of self-acceptance, and being okay with life even when you don’t triumph, a tragic message given Mac’s passing just a month after the record’s release. I related to many of these songs on a personal level with my own struggles in 2018, the album came out exactly when I needed it. Rest in peace, Mac. Most dope…forever.

Top 3: Hurt Feelings, 2009, Self Care

Honorable Mention: It didn’t make the album, but go listen to “Programs”; it’s so buttery

Proper Dose - The Story So Far

This band has yet to disappoint and gets better with each album they do, I’m thankful for that since it’s a rare thing. The album moves fast with a combination of tracks that are best listened to while flying down the highway or cruising with the windows down on a nice day. Classic pop-punk vibes are present on “Need To Know” and the title track, while the band explores a new, more melodic sound on “Upside Down” and “Growing On You”. The most welcome new addition is Parker’s ability to sing, progressing from his shouting-style on previous albums; “Take Me As You Please” showcases this beautifully. Ryan Torf also deserves a lot of credit for the air tight drums on every track. The percussion is a huge standout. This album was made to be blasted in a car on a summer day.

Top 3: Out Of It, Light Year, Take Me As You Please

YSIV - Logic

I tried to keep it to one project per artist, so this beat out Bobby Tarantino II for me. Logic has dropped at least one project every year since 2010, let that sink in. Somehow, he has managed to not sound overdone or saturated, a true testament to his craft and workaholic nature. YSIV (Young Sinatra IV) revisits the 90-style boom-bap sound of his Young Sinatra mixtape trilogy that got him known. Logic sounds like he walked through a portal and it’s the early 2010s again, but his raps and 6ix’s production have both ascended to a new level. 1-800 fans will be very confused as the bar-hungry Logic of old resurfaces to show people that he’s still an animal on the mic with tracks like “Everybody Dies” and “The Return”. If you like straight bars then this is the album for you. The ENTIRE Wu Tang Clan makes an appearance on the song “Wu Tang Forever”. “Street Dreams II” is storytelling at it’s best, an ode to the style of rap that dominated the 90s. YSIV sounds like a genuine continuation of the Young Sinatra era, rather than a sequel or remake that tries too hard to be like the original. The only thing missing is an iconic Marty Randolph skit.

Top 3: The Return, Street Dreams II, Ordinary Day

A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975

The working title “Music for Cars” sent fans into a frenzy thinking that the band was revisiting their early days. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships proved to be the opposite by pushing the boundaries of the band’s sound. Yes, there are songs like TOOTIME and the single, “Love It If We Made It” that would sound perfectly at home on the previous album, but there are also jazzy songs like “Mine” and “Sincerity Is Scary” that we’ve never heard from this eclectic, pop quartet. The album explores a wide pallet of emotions, mostly surrounding love and relationships in the present day. They even propose the not so farfetched idea that we’re in a relationship with the internet and social media on “The Man Who Married a Robot”. I’ve always gravitated toward the instrumental interludes/tracks on The 1975 projects (excluding the remixed intros), but I also really enjoyed the softer songs as well on this one. This band has always encompassed many different feelings on their projects, but it’s broadcast on a similar spectrum for a given project. It’s hard to put this band in a box, and I really like that.

Top 3: Love Theme, Surrounded By Heads And Bodies, I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)

K.O.D. - J. Cole

Anytime J. Cole has been quiet for what seems like too long you can guarantee he’s about to drop something. K.O.D. officially marks the end of the Forest Hills Drive era that was continued on 4 Your Eyez. The album is a bit of an uncomfortable, medicated listen, start to finish, but that’s the point. It hits close to home for those that have struggled with addiction personally, or witnessed friends and family grapple. Cole warns listeners of the dangers of addiction and drug abuse, especially as a staple of the modern rap scene. However, Cole shows us that addiction isn’t just substance based, but also comes in the forms of social media and ego, with deeper rooted problems that we cover with these things rather than face head on. “Photograph” calls out the ego-stroke that Instagram has turned into. Cole impressively comes off from a place of concern, rather than being preachy. The album isn’t an easy listen, but it’s a necessary one.

Top 3: Photograph, Kevin’s Heart, BRACKETS

Culture II - Migos

Migos wasted no time in following their 2017 breakthrough, Culture. Culture II essentially keeps the record spinning with a slew of new songs. A friend once said to me that most of Migos sounds the same, and there’s a lot of truth to that. But their triplet bar scheme is still catchy and a lot of these tracks are just a fun listen, whether you’re working out, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or getting together with friends. “Supastars” and “Auto Pilot” are straight hype tracks, and the now ironic “Motorsport” slaps with the Nicki Minaj & Cardi B features. “Stir Fry” is a track that you can immediately hear Pharrell on despite his lack of vocals. Culture II is jam packed with lines that we’ve seen everyone use as Instagram captions throughout 2018, don’t count on that trend stopping anytime soon with Culture III already slated for early 2019.

Top 3: Motorsport, Movin’ Too Fast, Auto Pilot

Scorpion - Drake

There’s a lot I can say about Scorpion, I’ll try and keep it brief. The gargantuan work is a double album, split into 2 sides. Side A is more rap heavy, while Side B is moody R&B. The production on this record is phenomenal, 40 and OVO Sound killed this one. Scorpion feels like the long awaited followup to Take Care that so many people (myself included) have spent the past 7 years dreaming of. This isn’t the “beat your chest”, angry Drake of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, or the British, grime-stint that was More Life. This is Drake at his best, simply being Drake. He’s braggadocios on “Nonstop” (with the now iconic Tay Keith production tag) and “Talk Up” (with an amazing verse by Hov). He’s moody, with in your feels songs like “Jaded” that will keep you up past 3 AM thinking about relationships that you were never in. He finds himself attempting to navigate life on “8 Out Of 10” and “March 14th”. Scorpion is well worth the long listen, with a wide array of offerings. In my opinion, this is Drake’s best project since Nothing Was the Same.

Top 3: Jaded, Nonstop, 8 Out Of 10

Honorary Mention (so many songs!): Sandra’s Rose

Man of the Woods - Justin Timberlake

I wish it didn’t always take this man half a decade to make new music, but I’m okay with quality over quantity. A homage to his son, Man of the Woods finds JT at his pop roots, but attempting to blend in some folk here and there for some robust notes. Most of the time it works out. “Say Something”, with Chris Stapleton, is a prime example. “Montana” will sound a bit more familiar to fans that know his signature pop sound. “Midnight Summer Jam” is the sweet spot between these two sounds that will have you grooving. There’s an interlude that’s reminiscent of “Blue Ocean Floor” on 20/20 (a sound I wish he’d make a whole album with). The Alicia Keys duet, “Morning Light”, feels like waking up on a sunny day after a great night’s sleep without a care in the world. Man of the Woods showcases JT’s versatility and willingness to take risks and push boundaries as a pop artist in a genre that often sounds repetitive. Most of the time it’s rewarding, and even when it’s off-step I still appreciate the effort. This album definitely grew on me after multiple listens.

Top 3: Midnight Summer Jam, Wave, Montana

Ye - Kanye West

Okay, Kanye had quite the year… let’s stick to the music. Ye was apparently recorded mere weeks before the deadline, the album cover was shot on the way to the release party. Kanye apparently scrapped the Love Everyone album (rumored to be the upcoming Yandhi) after the whole MAGA controversy, when he received “new creative energy”. Ye is a short listen, seven tracks just shy of 24 minutes (a common them on all the projects Kanye worked on this year). The album packs a lot of content in for a short listen though, mainly addressing mental health, Kanye’s struggle with bipolar disorder (aka his “superpower”), and the turbulent year he had. Production is one of the highlights on the album; it opens with a dreamy sequence as Kanye speaks some dark lines, a stark juxtaposition. “Ghost Town” is the emotional climax of the album; Kid Cudi, 070 Shake, and PartyNextDoor nail their features, while Kanye delivers some of his best lines on the album. Kanye closes out on “Violent Crimes” with a touching note reflecting on his past behavior as a man and how he now worries for his daughter as she grows up in the world today. It’s a fairly cohesive album for such a rushed project, definitely better put together than The Life of Pablo. Say what you want about Mr. West, but the man is a musical genius.

Top 3: Ghost Town, No Mistakes, Yikes

Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

People lost it when rumors dropped last fall that Ye and Cudi were working on a joint album. The idea sounded like a home run and something that needed to happen, especially after the momentary feud between the two as Cudi struggled with his mental health at the end of 2016. Kids See Ghosts delivers tenfold, and, in my opinion, is the better effort from Kanye this year (it’s a joint album so it’s an acceptation to my 1 project per artist rule). Ye and Cudi have always brought out the best in each other creatively, they’re yin and yang. “Feel the Love” starts the listen with Cudi chanting and harsh hitting production as Kanye shouts akin to a tommy gun. It sounds like the duo are using their voices as instruments and having fun with it, a theme present across all seven songs. Kanye chops up a 1930s Christmas song to make a banger on “4th Dimension”. As the album progresses, the two tackle their personal issues and struggles, slaying their demons, and coming out rejuvenated on the other side. Cudi returns with his signature hums and hooks, transitioning between rapping his ass off and gently delivering his verses. He delivers a new anthem with “Reborn”, assuring the world that he’s okay. Kanye saved his best bars for this album, delivering some of his best verses since Dark Twisted Fantasy (yes, I said it). Kids See Ghosts is trip that is a far more cohesive listen than Ye (not to take away from Kanye’s solo effort), and is a project that we sorely needed this year. It shows that Cudi is in a better place than in 2016 and the duo can still do what they do best: make good music. While “all killer, no filler”, it’s is a bit of a bummer that the album is only seven songs long, but the fact that they both want to do another certainly makes up for it.

Top 3: Reborn, 4th Dimension, Feel the Love

Testing - A$AP Rocky

We last heard from A$AP Rocky in 2015. Flacko makes his return in 2018 with Testing, an experimental venture. As soon as the staticky bass drops on “Distorted Records” you know that this project is going to be different. True to it’s name, testing offers a variety of sounds with no clear identity. The record feels like a stepping stone as to where Rocky is going, rather than where he is at right now. “Hun43rd” will take longtime A$AP fans back to the early 2010s, while “Buck Shots” will make you curious to see where Rocky goes in the future. Harder beats are contrasted with tracks that focus on gentle guitar strumming, like “Changes” and “Purity”. A lot of rappers tend to play it safe and not experiment much with their sound while focusing on their bars and going with whatever beat is considered “fire” at that moment. It’s rare to see someone, especially a big name like A$AP, really try a variety of sounds and put out an abstract project. It may not be what we expected after At.Long.Last.A$AP, but I give serious props to Rocky for trying something different and look forward to his next project, even if it’s another wait.

Top 3: Hun43rd, Buck Shots, Changes

Little Dark Age - MGMT

This one quietly flew under the radar. MGMT made their return with their first release in half a decade. While apparently inspired by the 2016 election, the album carries little political discourse. Without changing their sound too much, the duo delivers a throwback to the 80s. This album is an absolute bop, plain and simple. Despite sounding like it came from a time capsule, the album addresses a variety of topics relevant to society today. “Time Spent Looking at My Phone” warns of how engrossed we have become with social media and our smartphones and are oblivious to the world around us. “Me and Michael” sounds like a Hall & Oates tribute. Overall the album is a fun listen start to finish, the band’s core sound and the 80s make for an awesome crossover. It’s just really nice to have MGMT back.

Top 3: Me and Michael, James, One Thing Left to Try

Championships - Meek Mill

2018 has been a huge year for Meek. He got released from prison and became an advocate for judicial reform (if you aren't familiar with the situation I implore you to read up on it because the media seriously misrepresented the facts to make him look like the bad guy and it goes to show the issues in our criminal justice system and the improvements that need to be made), the blockbuster beef with Drake was squashed onstage by performing Dreams and Nightmares (one of the greatest intros of all time), and he capped it off with an album. Championships is a victory lap, celebrating his comeback from a rough stretch involving some major losses. Funky vibes are present all over the album, which is uncharacteristic, but welcome for the usually hard hitting MC. Meek still raps about money, women, and his gritty past over beats that will blow out your speakers if you’re not careful, but also reflects on bigger topics like social injustice on “What’s Free” and “Trauma”. Amends are made with Drake on “Going Bad”. Meek once again proves that he’s undefeated when it comes to intros with a Phil Collins sample. Championships is the celebration of a man that took his lumps and came back, pop some bottles and join in on the party.

Top 3: What’s Free?, Dangerous, Pay You Back

Tha Carter V - Lil Wayne

Word of The Carter V surfaced before I started college… I finished grad school this past year. The album spent the better part of the decade tied up amid legal battles and feuding with Wayne’s old mentor, Birdman, and Cash Money Records. Wayne spent the time releasing various projects to try and satisfy the demand. Carter V seemed to be this decade’s Detox, an album we would always hear about but never actually get. Thank goodness that was not the case. The album clocks in just shy of 90 minutes, a hefty listen. But remember, the album was once slated for a 2013 release and contains material recorded as far back as 2012. Personally, I’m glad Wayne decided to include as much material as he did, this was a long time coming. It’s easily his best project in quite some time and reminds people of why Wayne dominated last decade. There’s something to offer Wayne fans of all eras, Mixtape Weezy, early Carter, and experimental Wayne are all present on this record. Hype tracks like “Uproar” are contrasted with duets like “Dark Side of the Moon”. Wayne lights up verses on “Let It Fly” and “Mona Lisa” (which also contains an impressive appearance from Kendrick). The record is a fun listen start to finish, welcome back, Weezy.

Top 3: Dope New Gospel, What About Me, Let It Fly

Daytona - Pusha T

Daytona had expectations. We last heard from Push in 2015 and this was the first of the wave of albums from G.O.O.D. Music this summer, not to mention one of the ones that was recorded during Kanye’s sojourn in Wyoming and also featured the photo of the late Whitney Houston’s bathroom as the controversial album cover. Daytona sounds like a modern take on the 90s boom-bap sound. Kanye West reminds everyone that he is a producer turned rapper, with top-tier production as executive producer and makes an appearance on “What Would Meek Do?”. Push then gobbles up these sensational beats akin to someone that waited all day to eat Thanksgiving dinner. The new G.O.O.D. CEO hits hard with the verses on every track and pulls no punches. “Infrared” brought his longtime beef with Drake from a simmer to a full boil and laid the ground for one of the most elaborate, methodical spillings of tea that music saw in some time. Originally intended to be King Push, Kanye and Push apparently decided to scrap 2 full albums before creating what would become Daytona, the wait and process was well worth it. The production is some of 2018’s best and the verses back it up. The drug dealer turned executive talks the talk and walks the walk. Yes it’s very early, but I’ll say it: this album will go down as a classic and be remembered as one of the better rap albums of the late 2010s.

Top 3: The Games We Play, Hard Piano, If You Know You Know

And finally, it’s been over 2 years, but go listen to Frank Ocean’s Blonde again. That album has aged like a fine wine.

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UM Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter welcomes the crowd at the dedication of the new and renovated Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

A line of blustery, threatening weather moving through the area didn’t stop more than 100 University of Mississippi students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni from celebrating the successes of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College on Thursday (March 30) afternoon.

The crowd squeezed into the Honors College’s great room to dedicate the expanded and renovated building, putting the cap on a two-year project. The ceremony, which was relocated from outdoors because of the weather, also marked the 20th anniversary of the Honors College and was followed by a reception and open house.

“The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College is an incredible asset to our university,” Chancellor Jeffery Vitter said. “It distinguishes us among peer institutions and allows Ole Miss to offer exceptional personalized opportunities to extremely talented students. I am very excited to be celebrating its expansion and renovation today.”

Others making remarks during the ceremony were Dean Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez; David Buford, director of risk management for the State Institutions of Higher Learning; Honors College alumni Dr. Marc Walker and Christin Gates Calloway; and Jim Barksdale, who helped launch the Honors College when he and his late wife, Sally McDonnell Barksdale, donated funds to expand the university’s Honors Program in 1997.

Moving into the new space was “a 10-year dream come true,” Sullivan-Gonzalez said.

“The new building represents a great blend of classroom and study space to go deep into conversation with peers on the tough questions of the day,” he said. “We are grateful for the new and renovated space at the SMBHC.”

The $6.9 million project added 15,000 new square feet to the existing building, bringing the total to 32,290 square feet. The renovated section includes seven new classrooms, a new kitchen, study area, a great room, computer lab, three new study rooms and new faculty offices.

“This is great and I’m so proud of what has been accomplished here during the past 20 years,” Barksdale said. “In life, you always want the chance to do something significant and different.

“This opportunity came along at the right time, the right place and with the right people. What a wonderful return upon our investment.”

Both Calloway and Walker said their Honors College experiences have proven invaluable to their careers.

“My professional path for the past 11 years has been built upon my Freshman Ventures at Weyerhaeuser Paper in Seattle and my medical missions trips to Bolivia, all made possible through the Honors College,” said Walker, a 2006 alumnus who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in chemistry, religion and philosophy. He earned degrees from both Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School and is set to become chief resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital next year.

“I’ve learned that surgery is a lot easier with the right tools and a committed team. That’s exactly what the Honors College offers.”

A Kosciusko native who earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2011, Calloway said the Honors College is where she “grappled with some of the toughest social, educational and political challenges of our time.”

“The Honors College is one of the most unique and enriching opportunities I’ve ever experienced,” said the doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. “Had I not attended here, I wouldn’t have had the courage, determination and tenacity to continue my education at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.”

The Honors College has grown tremendously from its humble beginnings. Opening with an initial class of 121 students in 1997, its student body has grown to more than 1,400.

The program annually attracts high-performing students from across the state and country. The average ACT score for incoming scholars last fall was 30.9, and their average high school GPA was 3.92.

For the last two years, more than 400 freshmen have joined the SMBHC each year. To accommodate the growing student body, the Honors College broke ground on its expansion in 2014, and the new addition opened in March 2016. The original building was then renovated, and work was completed in December.

“Our students enjoy deep conversations, and this is a welcoming space that encourages us to take time to engage in meaningful discussion,” Sullivan-Gonzalez said. “This provides the needed infrastructure to assure that this program will be the ‘tip of the spear’ to lead the university’s academic charge for years to come.”

The Barksdales made the idea of an Honors College possible, enabling the purchase and renovation of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority building to house the new program. That first gift also endowed 16 scholarships and provided funding for operating expenses.

Other generous donations include endowments from the Parker estates to fund scholarships, and from Lynda and John Shea to support study abroad fellowships.

With the death of Sally McDonnell Barksdale in December 2003, the Honors College was renamed in her memory in spring 2004.

“The University of Mississippi and, indeed, all of the state’s citizens are indebted to the Barksdales for their continued and transformative support,” Vitter said. “For 20 years now, the impact of the Honors College has been far-reaching, helping create a vibrant legacy of attracting the best and brightest to Ole Miss.”

For more information on the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, go to http://ift.tt/19h52gd.

By Edwin Smith

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